Issue 63 - Out of the box

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Out of the box

There have been several high profile repackaging of famous brands recently. We are beginning to see
more attention paid to bottle shapes and presentation boxes. We decided to ask members of the
WhiskyMag.com what was catching their eye on the shelves and why.

KW: At the moment the whisky industry is enjoying a real boom period which is forecast to not only continue, but to possibly increase even further with the development of new markets in countries like China. So, as all major distilleries and corporations look to increase their market share, product branding and image are more important than ever in this exciting period of growth.

In this great industry, product branding and recognition is achieved primarily through the packaging and projection of individual product image. So yes, the packaging has great influence on how a customer, or prospective new customer views a brand.

Some companies choose to project an image of tradition and ‘olde worlde elegance' while others move towards new styles which project clarity in their labelling and packaging.

To give an example, in a recent whisky tasting I spoke with a freelance marketing expert (from an industry other than whisky) and asked him to compare two styles of packaging of the same product. This was an example of one single malt whisky, but with one bottle in the previous livery and another bottle of the same whisky in the new livery.

He immediately focused on the changes pointing out how the new livery and bottle shape offered more clarity (and less clutter), especially o...